Visit Salt Lake Gives Tourism Award to U’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research

Press Release

June 22, 2015

Salt Lake City—Visit Salt Lake (VSL) presented the “Tourism Achievement Award” to the Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR) during its second quarter board of trustees meeting on June 18, 2015, at the David Eccles School of Business. The annual award honors members and community organizations for “outstanding efforts in supporting the mission of Visit Salt Lake and the larger tourism community of Salt Lake County.” Jan Stambro, Senior Research Economist, accepted the award on behalf of BEBR.

VSL has contracted with BEBR since 1994 to conduct surveys with the goal of accurately measuring delegate spending for meetings and conventions held in Salt Lake. According to research conducted by experts at BEBR, the average convention delegate spends $930 while in Salt Lake. In 2014, visitors to Salt Lake spent $1.17 billion, generating more than $122 million in state and local taxes.

“The data we’re seeing paints a clear picture: tourism spending and tax revenue are significant components of both the local and state economy,” said James Wood, executive director of BEBR. “Accurately measuring the overall impact of these activities is an important task, and we are grateful to be aiding Visit Salt Lake in this capacity.”

In 2015, 269,877 delegates came to Salt Lake for conventions, hotel/resort meetings, and sporting/special events. The tax revenue from these visitors is estimated to reduce the local tax burden by more than $1,000 annually per Utah household.

“It’s crucial we have the ability to accurately measure the impact of our efforts, and that of visitors to our community, particularly those attending meetings and conventions,” said Scott Beck, president and CEO of Visit Salt Lake. “We are fortunate to have an incredible relationship with the team at BEBR. Their expertise places them at the top of their field.”